Property still languishing as investors wait

By GORDON CLARK -- gclark@scnews.com.au CASH is king for Queensland investors who say they are not ready to jump back onto the property bandwagon.

TV identity Paul Clitheroe, also the founding director of financial advice firm ipac securities, said new research had shown Australian shares and cash were the only places investors would move money to in the present quarter.

Mr Clitheroe said the strong preference for cash was in line with a national trend that has seen Australian households more than double their cash deposits since 2000.

PRD nationwide Maroochydore principal Syd Walker, regarded as one of the most astute property industry identities in the region, said it was quite clear investors had not returned to the Coast market in any meaningful numbers since late last year.

He also said he had reweighted his own portfolio in the past year, buying more shares, investing in commercial property and selling any residential investment properties he believed had reached their capital gain potential.

At the same time, he expressed caution about further share market gains, saying he expected property investment opportunities to return in coming months.

I havent seen any emergence of distressed selling yet, but Im definitely a buyer at the right price, he said.

Meanwhile, financial advisor Lyn Eddy from InFocus Securities at Maroochydore said the number of investors desperate to get into property had clearly fallen, adding most people were now looking for a balanced portfolio.

If youre holding onto good property, good shares, and some cash, you cant go too far wrong, she said.